The Clutter Diet Blog

What is Holding You Back for 2008?

In our Clutter Diet tutorials, we talk about how there are 3 kinds of organizing, and "Planning" is the top level of those... Planning is incredibly important and makes everything else work better. It does require that you step back, take some time out, and think. Have you thought about 2008 and what you would like to change?

My 2008 focus is on conquering fear. We can't let fear keep us from our goals! Christmas weekend I symbolically demonstrated this to myself by jumping out of an airplane. Yes, I really did! Skydiving, I found, is something that changes you forever, like becoming a parent. I feel like something is different and better, and now I can remind myself that if I can do that, I can do anything! (click photos for larger versions)

I have found after years of helping clients get organized that fear is a BIG factor holding them back. Keeping things you no longer need is almost always rooted in fear, for example, as in, "I'm afraid (I might need it someday)/(I won't be able to find that again)/(my daughter might need it)/(fill in the blank with your own concerns)." People are also afraid to make big changes in general...are afraid that there won't be any excuses left if they are finally organized...are afraid that if they can't do it perfectly they don't want to do it at all... and are afraid of facing emotional baggage amongst the clutter.

How is fear holding you back in your life? How could you change this in 2008?

 

Get Creative to Get Through Security

I just traveled recently and really did not want to check bags, so wanting to comply with the "3-1-1" airline regulation of putting your liquids and gels in a quart-size plastic zip-top bag, I looked around for creative solutions. I had this 7-section stacking pill container that I got from Container Store, and I decided it was the perfect thing to try for my various "potions" to save room. I just put a few pumps of my skin care items, makeup, and hair gel into each compartment, and it worked GREAT! Each compartment serves as the lid for the next one as they screw together into a tower of toiletries only about 6" high.

I did have a slight little bit of leakage from one container, but it was negligible and was well worth the enormous space savings it gave me. I was gone only for 3 days, but I could have put much more into the containers, probably a week's worth. I think that thicker liquids work better than very runny shampoos, for example-- I would still use a separate container for shampoo or just use the hotel's. I hope someone enjoys this tip as much as I did! I felt so smart with my tiny quart bag of stuff, and I didn't have to buy special travel sizes.

I hope everyone's holidays were fantastic!

Real Cost of the Twelve Days of Christmas

Last year at this time I wrote a post about how the PNC Christmas Price Index (check out their ticker!) tracks the cost of the items in the Twelve Days of Christmas song, and I wanted to revisit that in celebration of the season.

The July minimum wage increase with its resulting rise in the salary for milkmaids and the high price of gold contributed to a 3.1% increase in the total cost of the goods, which was $19,507 this year!

As usual, we want to say that as organizing experts, buying all of these 364 items for your true love goes against our professional advice.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Organize Your Book Collection-Virtually

Book lovers take heed! Since at Christmas time we often talk about a few of our "favorite things," I wanted to share this website with you where I have spent way too much time playing. (logo screenshot from their site)

You can organize your book collection at www.goodreads.com, where you can also give reviews to your books, share your book "shelves" with friends, and capture books you want to read next. One question we get often is where to capture that type of information... this is a great place for those future reads to have a home so you won't forget what someone recommended to you.

You can create your own "shelves," which are just categories of books, and your books can reside in more than one category. I cannot tell you that this is a truly productive use of your time, because you still have to organize your books physically. But if you are a book lover, this is a very enjoyable way to spend a few hours on a rainy or snowy afternoon, and you can get some great ideas for books to read from looking at others' shelves and reviews. Hopefully you have some time off this holiday season and you can spend some time on GoodReads browsing and commenting!  Enjoy!

Organizing Lessons from Broadway

I am writing this week from New York where I have been on a whirlwind media tour for 2 days with a bunch of really nice magazine editors and filming a segment for www.better.tv. It's been a blast! I went to a broadway show, Spamalot, which was wonderful. I had a great seat on the front row, so I was able to observe a lot from that perspective. I could see the conductor's head sticking out of the orchestra pit two seats down from me, and his earlobes wiggled when he was waving his wand around with gusto.

It struck me that they do everything they can to make things faster, easier, and more efficient during the show. There was a shrubbery in the show (if you are a Monty Python fan, you will know why!), and I noticed that they bolted on handles to the shrubbery container to make it easier for the actors and stagehands to carry. They also make the costumes as easy as possible to change, and they add Velcro to lots of things, like drinking glasses on trays, so they won't fall off. We often use Velcro in our work for things like remote controls, rubber stamps, and other little accessories that need to be handy and close by but out of the way. The industrial strength Velcro is the best!

The set design is also extraordinary in terms of efficiency. They design the sets to be easy to move and multipurpose them for many different scenes from different angles. It was inspiring design! What could you add on, repurpose, fix, or adjust today to make your home run as efficiently as this show?

Organizing Your Stocking Stuffers

I have been doing this for years, and it occurred to me that you might like to use my method for organizing stocking stuffer items prior to the big day.

Christmas stockings are a big deal in my family. There are usually some gag gifts given by the male family members. They love to shop at the "Dollar Store" for silly stuff to make us laugh. We females usually get super-practical stuff for each other like "chip clips" and other little household things. My brother, now in his 30s, still gets underwear in his stocking each year from my mother as a joke, because one time he complained about that when he was a kid (can't say that I blame him for complaining!).

Because we start collecting these items well in advance, I use paper lunch sacks labeled with each person's name to start dividing up the loot. That way on Christmas morning I already have it all out of its packaging and sorted, ready to hurry up and fill stockings and go back to my warm bed.

Here is a photo of how I arrange our paper sacks in boxes. (click the photo for a larger version) I keep these boxes in a hidden place in the house and just add to them as the weeks go by. I re-use the sacks each year (same people!).

Happy Holidays everyone!

Take Donations in Now to Get Your Tax Deductions!

For those of you with piles of donation items to take to Goodwill, the Salvation Army, or other worthy charities, remember that you should donate your stuff before December 31st to get a tax deduction for it for 2007.

We are fans of using It's Deductible software, which is bundled with some editions of TurboTax and also available online. It's like the "Blue Book" for household items, telling you what your stuff is really worth. It's Deductible has done all the research in thrift shops and even on eBay to get the right numbers. People generally grossly underestimate the value of their donated household items. Did you know, for example, that a bridesmaid dress in excellent condition is worth $22.00 in charitable contributions?

Get credit for all of those lost Clutter-Pounds(SM) where it counts-- in your wallet!

If It Were Easy, Everyone Would Do It

People who know me are going to get sick of me talking about the book The Dip, by Seth Godin. I was honored to speak last week to a stellar group of student leaders at my alma mater, Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX. When thinking about what to tell them about what I have learned in life, this book really stood out. (cover image from Barnes & Noble's website)

The idea is that anything worth having or doing in life is most likely going to have a "Dip." The Dip is a graphical representation of the hardest part of your journey-- the "weed-out classes" in pre-med studies, the "seven-year itch" in a marriage, the middle of the marathon race. It's the reason that not everyone is a CEO, or an entrepreneur, or a senator. Getting through the Dip, past the hard part, is what it's all about... if it were easy, everyone would do it. I have been seeing everything through this "filter" since I read this book a few months ago.

Many of our Clutter Diet members have joined our program excited about the ideas and motivation, but soon they will probably face the Dip... they may have a difficult organizing project to do that is daunting, like a room full of papers or a bunch of emotionally-ridden inherited items to go through. The Dip is easier to get through if you know it's there. Lean into it... embrace it... and learn from it. You've got to push through to the other side where success waits.

One of the major themes in this book is knowing when to quit and when to stick--when the Dip may not be worth getting through or you may be in a "Cul-de-Sac" instead. Getting organized is so much about deciding what you want in life and how your environment matches and supports your vision. This book will help you tremendously if you need to make some tough choices about your life and work.

This book is perfect for thinking about the new year to come. You can read this over breakfast because it's really short. I hope you will read it and comment here! Enjoy!

Cooler than Cool- Google SMS

Did you know that you can get tons of information sent to you instantly on your cell phone by text messaging Google? I am absolutely blown away by this free service! And you do NOT have to have a web browser on your phone.

You just send a text message to 466453 (spells Google on your keypad) for the information you want. No more calling 411! Just text "Starbucks 78746" to find the closest Starbucks to a certain zip code. Here are the things you can find out:

Phone Numbers and Addresses: Type something you want with the zip code, like "pizza 78704" or a person's name or business name with the zip code or city.
Weather:  Type "weather austin" (substituting your city of choice)
Dictionary: Type "define akimbo" (put in the word you want instead of akimbo- which I think is just a cool and interesting word)
Sports: Type "score red sox" (put in your team of choice)
Movie Listings: Type "movies 78746" (substituting your zip code)
Calculator: Type something like "1 US pint in liters"
Directions: Type "(origin address) to (destination address or zip code)"

There are so many more things it does, you'll have to visit their Google Mobile web page that tells about it all, including stocks, airline flights, translations... I could have used this so many times! What a boon to all of us who have ever been out stranded somewhere without the information we need! You will be amazed.